O cursor desapareceu do ecrã, mas voltou quando usei outro atalho.

Because de + o contracts to do in Portuguese.

So:

• de o ecrã → do ecrã
• de a janela → da janela
• de os ficheiros → dos ficheiros
• de as pastas → das pastas

In this sentence, desapareceu do ecrã means disappeared from the screen.

Yes. Ecrã is the usual European Portuguese word for screen or display.

So:

• o ecrã do computador = the computer screen
• o ecrã do telemóvel = the phone screen

In Brazilian Portuguese, people more often say tela instead of ecrã.

So this sentence sounds clearly like Portugal Portuguese.

These are all in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo, which is the normal tense for completed past actions.

• desapareceu = it disappeared
• voltou = it came back / returned
• usei = I used

This tense is used because the sentence describes a sequence of finished events:

1. the cursor disappeared
2. it came back
3. that happened when I used another shortcut

So the sentence is narrating specific past events, not ongoing background actions.

Because usei refers to one completed action: at a certain moment, the speaker used another shortcut.

• quando usei outro atalho = when I used another shortcut
  → one specific action

If you said quando usava, that would suggest something habitual or ongoing in the past, like when I was using or whenever I used, depending on context.

Here, the idea is a single event that made the cursor return, so usei is the natural choice.

Here, atalho means a keyboard shortcut.

In computer-related language, atalho can mean:

• a keyboard shortcut
• sometimes a shortcut icon, depending on context

But in this sentence, because of usei outro atalho, the most natural meaning is I used another keyboard shortcut.

Examples:

• Usei um atalho do teclado. = I used a keyboard shortcut.
• Qual é o atalho para copiar? = What is the shortcut for copy?

Because outro can function by itself as a determiner, like another in English.

So:

• outro atalho = another shortcut

You can also say um outro atalho, but that usually sounds a bit more emphatic or stylistically marked.

In ordinary speech, outro atalho is the most natural choice.

Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear or when the subject is understood from context.

In this sentence:

• O cursor desapareceu do ecrã, mas voltou...

The subject of voltou is clearly still o cursor.

So Portuguese does not need to repeat ele.

If you said mas ele voltou, it would still be grammatical, but less natural unless you wanted emphasis or contrast.

Yes, literally voltou means returned or came back.

In this context, it means the cursor reappeared.

So these are all natural English translations:

• but it returned
• but it came back
• but it reappeared

Portuguese often uses voltar in places where English might prefer come back or reappear.

Because mas means but, and in Portuguese it is very common to place a comma before it when it links two clauses.

Here the sentence has two parts:

• O cursor desapareceu do ecrã
• mas voltou quando usei outro atalho

The comma helps separate the contrast:

• it disappeared
• but then it came back

This is similar to standard English punctuation before but.

Yes. Cursor is a masculine noun in Portuguese, so it takes:

• o cursor = the cursor
• um cursor = a cursor

That is why related words would also agree in the masculine if needed.

For example:

• o cursor está visível
• o cursor desapareceu

In European Portuguese, desapareceu is the safer and more standard choice here.

• desaparecer = to disappear

The verb sumir/sumiu is much more common in Brazilian Portuguese. In Portugal, it may sound less standard or less neutral depending on the context.

So for Portugal Portuguese, desapareceu is the best option.

Sometimes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• ecrã = screen
• monitor = monitor (the physical device)

If the cursor vanished from the visible display area, do ecrã is the most accurate phrase.

If you said do monitor, it could sound like it disappeared from the monitor as an object, not specifically from the screen display.

So in this sentence, do ecrã is better.

In European Portuguese, ecrã is pronounced approximately like eh-KRAN, but with a nasal final sound because of ã.

A few things to notice:

• the stress is on the last syllable
• cr is pronounced clearly together
• ã is nasal, not a plain a

So it does not sound like a full English ran, but something more nasal at the end.

Because the sentence refers to a real event that actually happened in the past.

• quando usei outro atalho = when I used another shortcut

This is a factual past action, so the indicative is used.

The subjunctive is more likely when the event is uncertain, future, hypothetical, or dependent on another condition.

For example:

• Quando usar outro atalho, avisa-me.
  = When you use another shortcut, let me know.

That future idea can trigger a different structure, but in your sentence the event is already completed and real, so usei is correct.

Yes, it sounds natural and idiomatic in European Portuguese.

Why it sounds natural:

• o cursor is standard
• ecrã is the normal European Portuguese word
• desapareceu and voltou are straightforward, natural past forms
• outro atalho is a normal way to say another shortcut

So this is a good model sentence for everyday computer-related Portuguese in Portugal.